Extended Reality Input Modality Switching to Reduce Eye-Gaze Jitter
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional input modalities for interacting with display devices, such as eye gaze tracking, suffer from instability due to involuntary eye motion causing jitter and lack seamless transitions between different input modalities, leading to disruptions in user interactions.
Innovation Solution
A display device that seamlessly transitions between input modalities like eye gaze tracking, head or hand movement, and input devices by using a transition framework and eye state algorithms to determine user intent, allowing for smooth switching and synchronization of inputs to enhance interaction accuracy and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If eye gaze tracking is used as the input modality, then the interaction can be more natural and hands-free, but the involuntary eye motion causes jitter and reduces stability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple input modalities (eye gaze tracking, head tracking, hand tracking, and input devices) into a unified input system. The system seamlessly transitions between different modalities to maintain pointer control, allowing the user to switch from eye gaze to head or hand tracking to eliminate jitter while maintaining natural interaction flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the active input modality based on detected user intent and current interaction context. An eye state algorithm continuously monitors eye tracking data to determine when to transition between modalities, making the input system adaptive and responsive to user needs in real-time.
2Device complexity
If a single input modality is used for interacting with objects, then the system is simpler to implement, but it cannot provide seamless transitions between different input methods
Solution Approach 1:
The input system is designed to support multiple input modalities (eye gaze, head tracking, hand tracking, and traditional input devices) within a single unified framework. This multi-functional system can seamlessly transition between different modalities based on user intent, providing versatility while maintaining a cohesive architectural structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary eye state algorithm that acts as a mediator between the eye tracking system and other input modalities. This algorithm analyzes eye state data and determines when transitions between modalities should occur, enabling seamless switching without requiring complex direct coordination between all input sources.
3Ease of operation
If eye gaze tracking is used, then the user can interact without hand movement, but the involuntary eye motion leads to pointer jitter and reduced accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges eye gaze tracking with higher-precision modalities (head tracking, hand tracking, or input devices) to create a hybrid input system. When eye gaze is used for coarse positioning, the system can transition to more precise modalities for fine-tuning pointer position, thereby maintaining hands-free interaction benefits while improving positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the active input parameter (input modality) based on the interaction phase and detected user intent. During coarse navigation, eye gaze parameters are used for efficiency, while during precision selection tasks, the system transitions to modalities with better precision parameters, dynamically optimizing the trade-off between ease of operation and measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A display device may receive eye tracking data. A display device may detect an eye gaze intent state based on the eye tracking data. A display device may receive an input device signal of an input device. A display device may determine to switch from a first input modality to a second input modality based on at least one of the eye gaze intent state or the input device signal. A display device may move a position indicator on a display of the display device using at least one of the first input modality or the second input modality.